Non-Attachment:

Hey everyone, I hope things are well on your end, wherever you are. It seems as though this Coronavirus thing is really creating some havoc back on the mainland and around the globe. Canceling flights to and from Europe and even the great March Madness!! How will we ever live!! Its times like these that I remember how little control we all actually have. It also reminds me that it doesn’t matter where you are living on this earth, how much money you have, what your job is. Coronavirus does not care about the labels we place on ourselves. Everything is fleeting, and we never know what is going to happen at any moment. No, this doesn’t have to be scary either. This is what makes life exciting! Everything is always changing right before our eyes, and having a view of it that is non-attached can help us all to live it in a more peaceful, happy way.

Most of us create little stories or mind-movies within our heads. We play out scenarios or our future lives and how they will be. We picture ourselves happy (most of the time) with maybe our dream job, the perfect partner, maybe a few kids thrown in the mix (or none if thats how you want to roll). We spend our present moments carefully planning and checking things off our lists so that our futures may turn out exactly how we view them in our minds. But most of the time, reality is not what we think it is going to be! I know that I am not alone in this. Did I think that I would be typing away in a coffee shop in a small town called Pahoa on a Thursday morning in Hawaii? Hell no! I thought I would be living out west, in some graduate program for creative writers. That was my plan anyway. But plans never turn out how we think they will. Life never turns out how we think we want it to. But it turns out how it is supposed to. Take that sentence in, let it marinate in your membrane for a minute or two. Everything turns out how it should. Though sometimes we don’t always see it this way.

We get so caught up in what we think we need and want, who we think we should be with, what job we think we should have, where we should be living, that we forget we are exactly where we are supposed to be, doing exactly what we are supposed to be doing in the present moment. To me, everything happens for a reason. There are no coincidences. The universe pushes us exactly where we need to go. Sometimes it gives us lessons that may seem unfair or unbearable. We may ask, “why is this happening to me?” A good way to think about these hardships is rephrasing the questions to, “what is this teaching me?”. This goes back to one of the Niyamas of yoga called Tapas which means to put yourself in the heat or the fire, so that you may burn away anything that keeps you from becoming your best self. At the time it really sucks to be in the heat, it is uncomfortable and maybe a bit scary, but change is scary for most of us. That is why a lot of people don’t want to change.

You may look around and think that your life is in chaos, or destruction. You may feel confused when you see the ashes of your life lay around you; everything that you were working towards, everything that you thought you knew suddenly changes. But I promise that you will make it to the other side a much stronger and more humble, wise soul.

Even though our external world is out of our control, such as the way others act towards us, or circumstances that occur, we can control our internal reactions. Practicing non-attachment is a great way to do this. Simply letting things you can’t control (which is everything outside of you) flow out of you. When someone cancels plans, instead of getting upset with them, just letting the negative energy you are feeling inside flow out of you and on its way. Imagine life is like a river, and if you don’t flow with it, what happens? You try to fight the current, climb your way upstream and you become exhausted and stressed by having to flight the natural direction of the way the river is going. The more we try to fight what is happening to us, the more we will suffer. The more we acknowledge what is happening to us and make peace with it, the faster it will be to get over it.

The more that we can view our lives with a non-attached view, the more we can enjoy the rhythm of life. The more we can let go of the tension we feel within, we begin to relax and join the ever-changing dance of what it means to be alive in this human experience. We spend so much time worrying about things that will never happen, things that don’t really matter in the grand scheme of it all. When we do this we miss out of the simple pleasures that are always happening within and around us.

I also want to say that this doens’t mean you can just sit back and wait for it all to come to you. Because that is not how it all works either (if only). Knowing when to take action and when to just let it be is also part of life; again it is a balance:) What you put out into the world you get back from the world.

Remember to breathe through it all. You are exactly where you are meant to be, doing exactly what you are meant to be doing.

Mahalo beauties,

Rylee

Life is a balance:

Hiiiiiiii homies!!! When thinking of what topic to write about today, balance was the first thing that popped into my mind. Balance has been a very important aspect in my life thus far and also has helped guide and align me on my spiritual path. Though balance is much needed in all of our lives, this is something that is often forgotten or put on the back-burner.

Why is balance important? Balance is important because it helps us keep and contain the right amount of energy we need to be our highest selves in all aspects of our lives. When we spend or give too much of our energy to just one area of our lives, other parts suffer. This can lead to stress, anxiety, relational problems, self-loathing, etc. When our outside world is out of balance, you can be sure our inner world is out of wack as well! We may feel confused, chronically tired, or feel like we are stuck and moving nowhere towards our goals and dreams.

A lot of us are so overwhelmed now-a-days with everything in our lives: whether this be our job, friends, hobbies, dreams, family, and now social media; which adds on another layer to our balance enigma. We are all so busy trying to do everything, be everything, check all the boxes off on our to-do lists; we forget the point of all of this busyness: to LIVE! To simply be alive and to just BE, is all we really need to do, all we really need to accomplish. Finding balance can help us find presence which helps us to be in the present moment, without worrying about texts we need to answer, work that needs to be done, a run that needs to be completed, etc.

All you need to do is first listen. I have said this a few times and I will say it many more times on this blog. Simply listen to your body, your mind, your heart, your breath. These will all tell you if you’re out of balance, out of synch with life. And if you’re questioning if you’re out of balance, you most likely are out of balance. For we know ourselves better than anyone, sometimes it’s just facing the hard truth that maybe some aspects of our lives needs to change. Maybe you need to work less, and rest more. Maybe its less drug use and more time for your hobbies or working towards your dreams. Maybe its less Netflix and more hikes with your dog or friends! Maybe its eating more veggies and fruits instead of processed foods, skipping your workout and sleeping a few hours more. These are a few examples of how to bring yourself into balance! Once you feel as though you are able to walk through your life on solid ground its totally ok to have a beer, eat that donut, watch that show on netflix, run that half-marathon!

Sometimes we get so caught up in doing the best things for ourselves, that we become too attached to a version of ourselves that isn’t exactly the best version we can be. I’m talking about the one that is able to relax, flow through life with more ease, appreciate their life as well as others within their lives. For we are all humans, and none of us are perfect (in the normal sense that most people think of). Honestly, we’re all perfect right now, as is. I’m perfect as I type out this post, you’re perfect as you’re reading this post, my roommate sitting to the left is perfect as he strums his guitar! The good news is, you’re exactly how you’re supposed to be at this moment, exactly where you’re supposed to be at this moment. This doesn’t mean that you can’t strive to be better, you can do this everyday! But it means being able to appreciate what you may consider a “mistake” or a “flaw”, it means moving through the flow of life with less effort and simply enjoying the ride. Finding balance helps us to enjoy the simple moments. These moments are what truly make this world beautiful.

I am grateful for you all! And know that you who is reading this is an amazing and beautiful human and cosmic being RIGHT NOW at this minute! Yes you!! I hope this article helps to shed a bit more light onto the balance situation, as always feel free to message me on my email or social media pages!

Mahalo and namaste,

Rylee

Authenticity!!

One of the most important things we can do in our lives: live authentically!! Yet this is one of the hardest things for most of us. Why is this? What is holding us back from living as our truest forms? Living without limits, boundaries, lines and fears. Truly being exactly who we are meant to be at each moment in time.

There is only one you. The you that is unlike any other. You were meant to be exactly who you are for a reason, so why are so many of use trying to be anything other than ourselves? It’s like trying to swim upstream, constantly fighting and battling with the current of life, desperately trying to conform and fit into boxes that our soul just wasn’t meant to be packed into. The fact is, no one is meant to live in a box! No one is meant to follow any rules. There are no rules of life. This is no secret! Yet all of us are raised to believe that we must follow the guidelines of a book that was written by someone other than ourselves. Imagine this: we’re all living our own lives in a way that SOMEONE ELSE wants us to be living it. This is crazy! For someone else to tell us what to do, what to think, how to feel, express. It doesn’t align. When we try to conform, to fit into places not meant for the shape of our soul, we end up feeling confused, angry, unhappy, bitter, resentful, etc.

Living authentically can be scary. But guess what? Some of the best things in life are scary. Its about acknowledging that fear, and then simply letting it go, not letting it take ahold of your life and how you’re going to live it. Take the reigns back! Dive into the scariest depths of yourself! Do the things you’ve always wanted to do, but are too scared of doing. Say the things you’ve always wanted to say. People aren’t always going to like what you say and do. That is fine! At the end of the day the only thing that matters is what you think of yourself. And I promise you, the more you live your life in an authentic way, the better you are going to feel. The more aligned with your true self you will feel. The more in-tune you feel with yourself, the more connected you will feel to those around you.

Living authentically also gives others the opportunity to live authentically. Ever see someone totally owning who they are and thinking how happy they are? How they radiate with a great luminosity and higher vibration? It’s because they really do! And because of this they in-turn attract energies and vibrations on the same wavelength as them, law of attraction baby!! Others can literally sense your authenticity, can feel it. Once you own this, there is NOTHING that can hold you back.

It would be a waste to try to live within the lines. To live as someone else, when you know fully well who you are inside. We ALL know who we are, and we all have the tools at any time to figure this out. Everything you need is within. That happiness you crave and search for? You aren’t going to find it within another person, in your drink at the bar, in the books that you read, the places you travel. It doesn’t exist there, it only lies within your soul, your being. Living authentically is honoring your soul, your essence. It’s giving yourself the love that you deserve. We all deserve this unconditional love that only we ourselves can give to us. When we give this love to ourselves, it is then we can share it with the world.

Grateful for all of you, this moment in time, and the alignment of the sky.

Namaste,

Rylee

Podcasts I Love:

At the beginning of my spiritual journey I found myself listening to A LOT of podcasts that dove into the many realms of consciousness such as astrology, angels, the awakening process, meditation, yoga, mysticism, holistic health, etc. They really helped me on my path as they still do now.

When I first started the awakening process, the life I knew before suddenly felt very strange to me. It was almost as though I had been awakened from a dream. Thus, spiritual awakening! I didn’t know who to talk to about what I was feeling inside, what was happening to me, and what I should do about it. I thought I was legit going crazy, as do others whom I’ve talked to while on this path.

Listening to others through podcasts talk about their own experiences, how they dealt/deal with it, as well as well as how they incorporate it into their everyday lives helped me realize I wasn’t alone, wasn’t going crazy, and what to do about the path I was now traveling on. Here is a list of some of my favorite podcasts, if you have any you would like to share, please feel free to comment. Most can be found on iTunes and Spotify. Enjoy!!

  1. The Highest Self- Sahara Rose: Aryuveda, dharma, interviews, past lives, literally everything you need to dive into spirituality

  2. The Woke Mystix: Mysticism, astrology, intuition, self-care

  3. Sattva Himalayan Wisdom-Anand Mehrotra: Consciousness and inner wisdom

  4. Cosmic Body-Danielle Paige: She has a great awakening story & amazing astrologer

  5. Yogaland-Andrea Ferretti: This one dives deeper into yoga teaching and practices

  6. Unlocking Us-Brene Brown: Brene is a shame expert and if you haven’t watch her TedTalk, read or listened to one of her books I strongly encourage you to. She is awesome:)

  7. On Being- Krista Tippett:She interviews a variety of people on the big questions of meaning.

  8. Magic Lessons-Elizabeth Gilbert: She is author of Big Magic and Eat Pray Love. I’ve only just started listening to her podcast. So far I am learning a lot!

  9. Armchair Expert-Dax Shepard: I’ll admit I was hesitant about this one. My sister told me about it so I took a chance and I thoroughly enjoy it. Dax is very honest and real about big issues in his life and so are the guests on his show.

  10. Mysterious Universe-Aaron Wright and Benjamin Grundy: Just started listening to this podcast and I absolutely love it! Both Wright and Grundy have a lot of wit and humor as they talk about various topics such as shamanism, ancestral healing, lucid dreaming and more! Highly recommend.

  11. Storytelling Magic & Medicine-Shannon Kelly and Tara McDermott: I found this podcast recently, and boy do I love it! Kelly and McDermott bring in various women on the show who tell their stories. This podcast is full of wisdom and love.

  12. Radical Remembrance-Conversations on Being Human with Luna Love: I have been listening to this podcast a lot recently. All about women in leadership postistions. Navigating their own businesses and leading in a feminine way!

  13. Manifestation Babe-Sooooo good!! I seriously resonate with her so deeply. This podcast is all about how to manifest your dream life, challenge your beliefs, and live a life aligned with your highest and true self.

  14. The Life Coach School Podcast-This podcast has given me some serious wisdom on how to up-level my life, make changes that serve me, as well as tools to help my coaching clients. Highly recommend for anyone, but especially coaches.

  15. The HEAL podcast-A wonderful podcast for-you guessed it-all things healing. In this podcast we learn how we all have the ability to hear ourselves with our choices and mindsets. Anything on our healing journey is possible. Based off of the HEAL documentary on Gaia.

  16. The Sovereign Project-If you are interested in Human Design and astrology I recommend listening to this podcast by Heather Mann. She goes deep into the mechanics of evolutionary astrology, breaks down human design, and teaches us how we fit into the new paradigm.

Books!

I love reading. It is something I have always done as a child and will most likely do until the day I leave this body. Thankfully most of us humans have the tools to be able to read and write with our hands, eyes, and minds! I am grateful for all of these books for helping me dive deeper into my consciousness and the workings of my inner self.

I would like to add that knowledge can be power. But always use this power with good intentions. Sometimes I find myself reading just because I want more knowledge, which can be another ego trap. (I’ll get into that in another post). I always try to remind myself as to why I am reading what I’m reading, what do I feel about the content, and how can I implement it within my life if it resonates with me. Taking time to rest, reflect, and digest can do wonders for the soul.

Now then, here is a list I have cultivated. Feel free to add any more you feel align in the comments below! Most can probably be found on Amazon, or perhaps used bookstores (shopping local is a good idea).

  1. The Alchemist-Paulo Coelho: Purpose/Dharma/Personal Legend

  2. Siddhartha-Hermann Hesse: Enlightenment

  3. Mother Earth Spirituality-Ed McGaa: Native American Spirituality

  4. Rainbow Tribe-Ed McGaa: How non-natives can practice/incorporate Native American Spirituality

  5. Dancing the dream-Jamie Sams: Paths to the inner self, Native American Spirituality

  6. The Book of Awakening-Mark Nepo: Poetry and everyday examples and stories

  7. A New Earth- Eckhart Tolle: Becoming aware, calming the mind and emotions

  8. The Power of Now- Eckhart Tolle: Focusing awareness on present moments

  9. The Untethered Soul-Michael A. Singer: Releasing attachments

  10. How to Change Your Mind- Michael Pollan: History and uses of psychedelics

  11. The Way of Zen-Alan Watts: How to live according to the way of Zen perspectives

  12. The Wisdom of Insecurity-Alan Watts: One of my favorite books, I’ve read it many times, and learn something new every time.

  13. The Yamas & Niyamas-Deborah Adele- Goes through the first two limbs of yoga. Five ways to practice restraint, and five ways to embrace on and off the mat. Highly recommend, even if you don’t practice yoga!

  14. The Bhagavad Gita-This one has a lot to say about consciousness, the mind, and emotions, a lot of layers, a lot of profound wisdom.

  15. Healing Wise-Susun Weed-A different way of healing the body, mind, and spirit! Not necessarily western, not alternative, but a mix/third approach. I really enjoyed this one as well, especially as a woman who experiences monthly cycles.

  16. Ayurveda-Sahara Rose-Bringing the traditional ways of the sister science of yoga (Ayurveda) to the western audience in more simplistic terms. Great for anyone interested in healing themselves with Ayurvedic techniques.

  17. On the Road- Jack Kerouac-Isn’t considered as spiritual. But I really love this book and what it had to say about living life in the moment and enjoying the ride.

  18. Daring Greatly- Brene Brown-This book is what the title says. Let going of our fears that keep us from living a loving life with an open heart. Its all about daring greatly and diving into the uncomfortable by living a vulnerable life. I’ve read this book twice and will most likely read it many more times.

  19. The Four Agreements-Don Miguel Ruiz-Living your life by the four agreements as described by Ruiz: 1. Be impeccable with your word. 2. Don’t take anything personally. 3. Don’t make assumptions. 4. Always do your best.

  20. Break The Norms-Chandresh Bhardwaj- He talks about myths that are associated with spirituality/society and how we can break them as well as decide for ourselves what works best.

  21. Ishmael-Daniel Quinn-My bf really wanted me to read this and I am glad that I did. It is about a gorilla criticizing modern society and how it is harming us all.

  22. Awakening Intuition-Frances Vaughn-This is a good book if you want to become more acquainted with your intuition. Vaughn gives many different practices you can engage in and also talks about roadblocks on the road to intuition.

  23. Ecological Intelligence-Ian McCallum-Wonderful book about our connection to the natural world and what we can do to become more connected to ourselves, nature, as well as what we can do to help the environment. Also includes a lot of poetry, whoo!!

  24. You Are A Badass: How To Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living An Awesome Life-Jen Sincero-A friend recommended this book to me (thanks Bri!!) and I think I read it in like two days. Life-Changing. If you are ready to leave your doubts and fears behind, to take control of your life, and make some much-needed changes, then pick this book up! It fucking rules.

  25. How To Do The Work: Dr. Nicole LaPera: Beautiful book written by psychologist Nicole LaPera. She takes a holistic approach to our healing and offers us things we can do along the way back to our journey of health and wholeness. It isn’t an easy journey but it is definitely worth it. Just like reading this book!

  26. Braiding Sweetgrass: Robin Wall Kimmerer: A very enlightening book on our lost connection to our plant siblings and how we can re-establish this connection through indigenous wisdom and spending time communing in the natural world. A truly beautiful story.

  27. If Women Rose Rooted: A life-changing journey to authenticity and belonging: Sharon Blackie: Wow. I think this is one of my absolute favorite books. Blackie talks about her own journey towards reclaiming her authentic self as a woman through myths and personal stories. Highly recommend.

  28. Walking Softly: Thomas D. Peacock: A story about the path of an Ojibwe man’s life to becoming an elder and what it means to be in alignment with ourselves and the world around us. I really loved this story.